Herrscher of Reason's Arknights

"Oh, are you too shocked to speak, or are you surprised that I would appear here at this moment?"

The man's voice was slick and shrill.

"Are you ready to return to the embrace of the deep sea?"

As the man spoke, he spread his arms wide, like a vulture spreading its wings, ready to announce the death of the dying.

Countless dark figures slowly gathered from both sides into the road, standing silently behind the man.

Their unfocused eyes were filled with a murderous desire, and their dilated pupils reflected the deep-sea hunter standing on the forest path.

"I'm so hungry..."

"They are the flesh and blood of our compatriots..."

"I want to tear it apart..."

"It smells like the blood of sinners..."

The low, mournful murmurs sounded like the prayers of the dead.

"Return to the sea, Skadi, the deep-sea hunter. Your companions and fellow travelers have all become one of us. Why not acknowledge this great evolutionary process? Why make a pointless struggle?"

Your companions are all waiting for your return!

The man said with a smile.

But Skadi responded to him with a longsword in her hand.

In the shadows beneath the brim of the hat, crimson pupils slowly glowed with a blood-red light in the darkness.

Her response was extremely simple, consisting of only two words.

"Go away."

"...What a pity, you clueless fool. Well then, I'll just have to let you experience despair first."

As he spoke, the man retreated into the crowd.

The silent crowd on both sides slowly moved forward, pressing towards Skadi.

There were many people, but you couldn't see any emotion on any of their faces; they all seemed to have only one face.

It's like a nightmare for those who have just learned to stand up, coming from the sea to the land!

"Kill her..."

"The taste of flesh and blood..."

"The blood of our compatriots."

As if someone had flipped a switch, the crowd suddenly surged towards Skadi in perfect unison!

The hunter then swung his greatsword!

Those things didn't look like humans at all; they were more like monsters with human faces.

When running, it almost hugs the ground; its extreme speed leaves no afterimage in the eyes of ordinary people.

At such high speeds, those guys could turn around with ease; their legs were more like springs than legs, which was extremely bizarre.

His lifeless eyes were tinged with a hint of crimson, and his face, like that of a dead man, showed no fear.

Even as their companions approached the hunter, an arc of light cleaved through the rain, slicing several of the unfortunate men into pieces.

But they seemed to have no idea what fear was, and rushed towards Skadi in a frenzy!

"Tch, this is troublesome."

A silver arc of light remained in the air as the greatsword in his hand completed its swing and returned to his grasp. He then slashed at another dark figure that was lunging at him from an extremely tricky angle.

The jet-black blood looked like splattered ink. What on earth are these things?

Skadi was also unsure whether the sea monsters could have evolved to the point where they could actually set foot on inland land, otherwise the world would have been doomed long ago.

But what are these things?

They could no longer be called human; their physical functions had surpassed those of humans, and they were in a state of having no self. You could not smell a trace of life on their bodies.

It's more like something has taken over the body and is using a clumsy, puppet-like logic to control this host body that walks on two legs and works with two hands.

It's like a human being, yet you can't find any human behavioral logic at all. This kind of fear would completely terrify a normal, ordinary person.

Of course, this was not a big deal for Skadi.

Who is the enemy?

Just swing it.

The sword was already splattered with countless drops of black, ink-like blood.

With each swing, raindrops mixed with blood were flung everywhere, splattering inky black streaks on the tree trunks or the ground.

The massive longsword seemed to lose its weight in Skadi's hands, dancing and twirling, its silvery sheen dazzlingly bright.

The strange swordsmanship swept away the onrushing crowd, leaving an empty area. If the crowd hadn't quickly surged forward again, Skadi might have already escaped.

"Why struggle? Why are you so unwilling to embrace the deep sea?"

The man's voice echoed in her ears; it was probably some strange Originium Arts that was making Skadi somewhat irritated.

"Shut up!"

The voice finally disappeared as a silver arc mercilessly slain the last shadowy figure.

The longsword was placed on the ground, and the inky black blood seeped into the soil, staining the entire patch of land beneath the girl's feet black.

And that noisy guy disappeared.

It was as if we had come under some kind of curse.

The drizzling rain gradually stopped, as if something had gone far away.

Even the corpses and the dark bloodstains on the ground disappeared without a trace as the rain stopped.

It's like...

It was as if nothing had happened; only the dew on the leaves proved that it had just rained heavily.

Those bastards, they came here too...?

This is getting complicated...

Chapter 278 [Not a Prince Charming, but a Horse Girl!]

"Search! Dig three feet into the ground and find that guy!"

In the afternoon, at Dishui Village.

"Thanks to you, my lord knight, otherwise I really don't know what those beasts would have done to her."

Inside the house, the villagers and the kind Kuranta cavalryman hid the young village chief in a cupboard to prevent him from being discovered by the bounty hunters.

"No need to thank me, and please don't call me Knight, I'm a girl, just call me Grani."

"A woman?"

The villagers looked at the slightly short little guy in front of them with some disbelief.

Could a handsome and dashing man with delicate features, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit and carrying a long spear be a tomboy?

Ah, but it's true, if he were a man, he would be a bit too delicate-looking.

"Is she... a lady?"

Seeing the uncle's surprised expression, Grani looked embarrassed.

"Even I have some girlish pride."

The man gave an awkward laugh. "Sorry, sorry, don't worry about the details. So, Grani... um, Miss, do you have any way to escape?"

The two bounty hunters just broke in and searched the place, but luckily he managed to hide them in the closet so they wouldn't find out.

That's how you escape a disaster, but you can't hide forever. If you keep hiding like this, you'll be discovered sooner or later.

We must find a way to get Chlor away as soon as possible, at least to avoid these bounty hunters' eyes and ears.

"Let's move Chlor first, but we have to wait until her injuries heal."

The two looked at poor Krol, who was now lying in the cabinet covered in injuries. Fortunately, she was small enough to fit inside, so she didn't have to curl up.

Although the ventilation here isn't very good, there's no other way; it's much better than being discovered.

"I'll figure something out. I have quite a few companions around here."

Grani said confidently.

"Oh no, you need to hide first, those people are coming again."

The man quickly hid Grani inside as well, closed the cabinet, and then placed a chair outside.

The captain has been quite unhappy these past few days. He encountered a lot of trouble on the way to the front line. The losses were not significant, but they were really annoying.

Then, after finally catching the village chief, they were ruined by a short bastard.

It would be a miracle if he wasn't angry. Seeing that their boss had a bad temper, his subordinates didn't dare to say anything, and they worked much harder.

This group of people are now entrenched near Dishui Village, completely surrounding the village, because that guy is hiding in the village, but they haven't found him yet.

If he catches him, the captain will skin that damned Kuranta man alive, eat his flesh and drink his blood!

Of course, more importantly, if we don't resolve this matter, how will our group continue to operate in the underworld?!

People still have their pride, especially a bounty hunter like him who makes a living based on his looks. If his reputation is damaged, it will be difficult for him to get jobs in the future.

Reputation is equivalent to brand effect.

The weak have no right to live.

It has always been like this.

···········

What am I doing...?

Is it dead?

Kelole slowly opened her eyes, only to see a pitch-black expanse and a silver-haired boy crouching beside her.

Is it that person?

In her last moments of consciousness, the girl seemed to see a figure shimmering with light.

The peerless hero who seemed to have stepped out of a story overlapped with the silver-haired boy beside him, a silver... uh... Kuranta person?

He wasn't some prince in white robes and armor, nor a silver-spear knight riding a celestial horse, but a white-haired boy.

Okay, Kuranta people are also horses, so rounding up, they're practically princes on white horses.

However, what Korre didn't know was that this guy wasn't a Kazimierz Knight, but a Victorian mounted policeman.

"Woo~"

Before the girl, who was slowly waking up, could say anything, the boy put a finger on her lips.

"Empty~"

The boy gently pointed outside.

Sure enough, several gruff voices came in.

"I'm asking you, where is your village chief? And have you seen a kid with a long spear?"

"No, I stayed inside the whole time and had no idea what was happening outside."

"Hmph, if we find out you're harboring someone, you'll be in big trouble."

A moment later, the sound of the door slamming came from outside. The boy then gently pushed the door open, and the light allowed the girl to see the outside world again.

Was I hidden in the closet?

"Ah, Chlor, you're awake. You've suffered so much."

The older man patted the boy's shoulder with one hand and patted Chlor's chest with the other, saying...

"Don't worry, Chlor, the policewoman has promised everyone that she will save the village!"

"Really? That's really... ah?"